Henry l



(No Model.) I.

H. L. LOVEJOY.

GASH AND PARCEL CARRYING APPARATUS.

No. 451,408. Patented Apr; 28, 1891.

a d F' 3 zgve 115 FFICE.

HENRY L. LOVEJOY, OF

LOlVELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH S.

LUDLAM, OF SAME PLACE.

CAS H AND PARCEL CARRYING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,408, dated April 28, 1891. Application filed December 26, 1389. Serial No. 334,932. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY L. LOVEJOY, a subject of Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cash and Parcel Carrying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cash and parcel carrying apparatus; and it consists in the devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed, said devices and combinations comprising means of retaining the car upon I 5 the way, means of allowing the car to be removed from the way, means of supporting the way, means of allowing a proper tension to be given to the way, means of guiding the car from the main portion of the line upon the end sections of said way, and means of lessening the noise and shock of stopping the car.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an isometric perspective View of a station or end portion of the way and the means of sup- 2 5 porting the same, showing also the car, guides,

means of propelling the car, and the air-cushion or dash-pot; Fig. 2 a vertical longitudinal section of the hanger, lever, supporting-frame,

and dash-pot; Fig. 3, an elevation of the in- 0 ner side of the upper portion of the supporting-frame and the arc-supporting bracket and a cross-section of the are; Fig. 4, a horizontal transverse section on the line at at in Fig. 3,

showing a plan of the guides and a part of 5 the wireway and are; Fig. 5, a side elevation of the car and a portion of the wireway; Fig.

6, an end elevation of the car and a vertical transverse section of the wireway; Fig. 7, a

plan of the bottom of the car and a portion of the wireway; Fig. 8, a central vertical transverse section of a wheel of the car; Fig. 9, an

isometric perspective view of a curve, its supporting-hanger, and portions of the wireway and arcs or end section.

The way shown in the drawings is in the .main portion of its length a stretched metallic wire A, one or both ends of which are connected to rigid metallic arcs A, as shown in Letters Patent No. 382,889, granted May 15, 1888, to me, the means of supporting the are and the means of straining the wire being .ject.

somewhat different from what is shown in said patent. Both ends of the Way may be alike and as shown in Fig. 1, or one end of the way may be elevated above the other, as 5 shown in another application, No. 334,931, filed herewith, and the carrier 0 be driven in one direction by gravity, in which case the upper end of .the wire may be connected to a suitable end section, as shown in said other application, or to a hanger, as shown in said patent, or to any convenient stationary ob- In the drawings the end of the wire is represented as bentinto a hook at and dropped into a hole a in the arc A,the wire when so bent retaining its hold on the are sufficiently to allow the wire to be properly stretched, as

hereinafter described,without unbending said hook. This means of attaching the wire to the end section is not claimed herein, but is shown, described, and claimed in said other application.

A vertical frame 13 is slotted nearly fromtop to bottom at b, the upper part b of the slot Z) being wide enough to allow the carrier O to pass through said frame B without striking said frame or the guides F F, hereinafter described. A vertical post B, the lower part b of which is wide enough to fill the slot 1) just below the enlarged part of said slot, is secured in said slot by a bolt b passing through said frame and post and entering a nut h on the opposite side of said frame from the head of said bolt. The upper portion of the post B is narrow transversely to allow the lower parts of the carrier to pass on opposite sides thereof, and at its upper end enters a slot a in the under side of the are A, near the upper end of said are. The lower end of the are A is let into the outer end of a horizontal arm 13*, which forms a part of the frame 13, and extends outwardly therefrom, being for convenience of manufacture formed in a separate piece from the vertical part of said frame and secured thereto by 5 any convenient means, as by a bolt b driven through said vertical part, near the lower end thereof, into the inner end of said horizontal part.

The upper end of the vertical frame B is 1o:v

provided with a nut 1), formed in one piece with said frame, which nut b engages the screw-threaded lower end (Z of the vertical rod or part (1 of the hanger D, and is externally many sided to be engaged by a wrench and screwed onto said hanger. The upper end of the part- (Z of the hanger is a horizontal sleeve (Z which surrounds and is capable of sliding 011 the horizontal rod or part (Z of said hanger and of being rigidly held thereon by a set-screw d, turning radially in said sleeve and thrusting against said horizontal rod. The ends of the rod (1 are driven into holes in pendent brackets d, secured by screws driven through the screw-holes d in the plates (Z of said brackets into the ceiling of the room in which the apparatus is set up. hen the set-screw (Z is loosened, the wire A, having been connected at its ends, as above described, without unnecessary slack, can be drawn taut by means of a turn-buckle E or equivalent device and a tightening-wire or guy-wire c, secured to the vertical rod (1 of the hanger, near the lower end thereof, and to the wall of the room in a horizontal line parallel with the direction of said wire A. After the wire A is strained, as above described, the screw (1 is set, and with the guy e prevents the slacking of the wire A.

The propelling-lever G lies in the same vertical plane as the are A, and is pivoted within the slot b by a bolt g, arranged at the center of said are and passing through the frame 13 from side to side thereof. Said lever G reaches nearly but not quite into contact with said are, and is provided at its upper end with a buffer 9, the same being a sleeve of rubber or other elastic or soft material, adapted to strike the carrier or to be struck by the carrier without noise or shock.

The lever G is operated by substantially the means shown in said patentthat is, by a cord 9 secured to the lower end of said lever at g and carried over a pulley g, pivoted in the outer end of the arm Biwhich is slotted or cored out at Z2 nearly from end to end to admit said cord and for lightness. The lever at its lower end is provided with an are 9 on the side toward the pulley g concentric with the fulcrum g of said lever, so that the cord g always has the same leverage, said are being grooved at g to admit said cord and prevent its slipping from said are. The are 9 is a skeleton and has arranged within it a buffer the same being preferably a sleeve of rubber or other suitable material arranged on a bolt b driven horizontally through the slot Z) of the vertical frame I said butter being struck by the lever G when the same moves to its extreme limit in either direction. The lever is weighted at its lower end at g" to partially counterbalance the weight of the car and to retain the lever in an upright position after throwing the carrier until the carrier in returning again strikes said lever and turns said lever down to a nearly horizontal position. To lessen the shock of the stopping of the carrier and lever G, I use an air-cushion or dash-pot H, the hollow cylinder 7t of which is pivoted at its upper closed end to the frame 13 by a pivot 7L parallel with the fulcrum g. In the cylinder II slides the piston h, the piston-rod 7L2 of which is pivoted at its lower end 71." to the lower weighted part 1" of the lever G below the fulcrum of said lever when the latter is in a nearly vertical position. The upper or inner face of the piston is provided with a depression preferably conical, to receivea loose valve 72. of corresponding shape, which rests by its own weight in said depression, and may be prevented from turning over or being displaced in moving 'bya pin 71 driven radially through said piston above said valve and out of contact with the same. Airis ad mitted to the cylinder by an inlet-hole 7L7, which runs through the piston thereof to the depression h' below the valve 7r, so that when the cord is pulled and thelever G raised the air readily enters the piston, and the dash-pot opposes no obstacle to the movement of said lever. lV hen the carrier strikes the lever G and moves said lever in the other direction, the air is suddenly compressed within the cylinder h and resists the movement of the piston and lever and stops them for an instant just before the lever reaches its lowest; position, until a part of the air compressed within the cylinder leaks out around the piston, which may be loosely fitted, or through a vent-hole h, arranged in the upper part of the cylinder, the discharge capacity of said vent being regulated by a screw h", which turns in a threaded hole in said cylinder and enters said vent at right angles thereto, and closes the same more or less as the screw projects into said vent. The carrierC is provided with two wheels 0, having grooved peripheries adapted to run on a stretched wire, and is provided with a caslrbox arranged on the top of said carrier, as shown in said other application. The body of the carrier is a casting c of considerable weight, and in use is arranged, as usual, almost wholly below the wire, but instead of having a lateral opening to receive the wire of the way, as is customary, is provided with a vertical slot 0 which extends from the bottom of said body above the lower parts of the wheels c to allow the carrier to be placed astride said wire, said slot being central and longitudinal and of a suflicient width in its narrowest part to admit the upper narrow portion of the post B, which supports the upper end of the areshaped end section of the track or way, and to allow said post to enter said slotreadily the outer ends of the slot are enlarged and the sides of the slot are rounded outward at each end. The upper portion of the slot 0 is enlarged, as shown in Fig. (l, to admit the are A, and the width of said slot below its enlarged upper end is some less than the lateral thickness of the are, so that the carrier cannot jump or fall from the arc and can only be removed from the wire or straight portion of the way where the car has less tendency to jump from the track. To make it absolutely certain that the car will not leave the track by accident, screws 0 are driven through holes which lead from the sides of the carrier into the slot 0 below the way and approach each other to within a distance which is less than the diameter of the wire A of the way. To prevent the carrier from swaying laterally as it passes through the upper part b of the slot 1) of the vertical frame and striking against said frame, I arrange two guides I, the same being wires supported oil-brackets t' by being soldered thereto, said brackets being supported within the-enlarged upper portion 1) of the slot 1) by screws 7;, which pass through the sides of the frame B into said brackets, the ends of the guides I farthest from the are A diverging and being arranged below the level of the way to extend on opposite sides of the lower portion of the carrier and guide said carrier on to said are. To prevent excessive friction between the carrier and the guides I, said carrier is provided with antifriction rolls 0, having vertical axes journaled in ears 0 o projecting from opposite sides of the body of the carrier.

The direction of the way may be changed by a lateral curve A as shown in Fig. 9, the same being a piece of metal, into holes in which the ends of adjacent sections of the line-wire are hooked, as above stated, in regard to the means of attaching the wire A to the end sections. The curve A is in crosssection like a cross-section of the post B and are A and is like said post, and the horizontal part of said are is extended longitudinally and curved laterally and is provided with a laterally-extending bracket 0. adapted to engage a hanger-rod D, depending from the ceiling. The shape of the curve A being as above described allows the carrier to pass it just as said carrier passes said post and enters upon the are A. In going around the curve A one side or flange of each carrierwheel 0 has a tendency to run faster than the other side of the wheel, and if said wheel is formed of a single piece in the usual manner the wheel will scrape on one side of said curve. I therefore form the wheels 0 each in two pieces, dividing the wheel in a plane at right angles to its axis, as shown at c in Fig. 8, but not into two equal parts. Each wheel cis provided with a groove 0 which is very little larger than the wire, said groove being in the middle of the circumference of the wheel, one side and the bottom of said groove being formed in the larger part 0 of said wheel and the other side of said groove being formed by the surface of the other part c of said wheel. The parts of the wheel are placed side by side, as shown in Fig. 8, but are entirely disconnected from each other, each turning independently of the other on a horizontal arbor 0 secured in the arms 0 of the carrier in the usual manner. The friction between the carrier and the curve A is lessened by the anti-friction rolls a, above described, these rolls being of a diameter suffito project toward each other into said slot and to approach within a distance from each other less than the lateral thickness of said way to prevent the accidental removal of said carrier from said way, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of the way and the carrier provided above its center of gravity with wheels adapted to run on said way, each of said wheels being grooved to receive said way and each being formed in two unequal portions, one of which contains the bottom and one side of such groove and the other of which contains the other side of said groove, the portions of each wheel being adapted to run each independently of the other, as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of the way, the guides arranged at the sides of said way, the vertical posts supporting a portion of said way, the car provided with wheels adapted to run on said way, the body of said car being slotted vertically from end to end from the bottom of said car up to said wheels, and anti-friction rolls journaled in the body of said car on vertical axes on opposite sides of the slot and extending into said slot and beyond the sides of said car to lessen the friction of said car on said guides and post, as and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination of the slotted vertical frame, the lever pivoted therein, an arm extending from said frame, a bracket secured within the slot of said frame, and the arc secured to said bracket and to the free end of said arm, as and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination of the slotted vertical frame, the hanger supporting the same, the lever pivoted therein, an arm extending from said frame, a bracket secured within the slot of said frame, and the are secured to said bracket and to the free end of said arm, as and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination of the hanger consisting-of a horizontal bar having means for securing the same to a ceiling, and a vertical rod provided at its upper end with a sleeve surrounding said horizontal rod, and guys to allow the vertical part of said hanger to be moved to stretch a wireway partly supported by said hanger, as and for the purpose specified. I

7. The combination of the hanger consisting of a horizontal bar having means for se' curing the same to a ceiling, and a vertical rod provided at its upper end with a sleeve surrounding said horizontal rod, the slotted vertical frame secured to the lower end of said vertical rod, an arm extending from the lower end of said frame, a bracket secured within the slot of said frame, and the are secured to said bracket and to the free end of said arm, a wire connected to the upper end of said are and forming a straight continuation of the same, and guys to draw said hanger and frame and the parts supported thereby and to stretch said wire, as and for the purpose specified.

8. The combination of the propelling-lever, the way, a carrier adapted. to travel on said HENRY L. LOVEJOY.

Witnesses:

MYRTIE C. BEALS, ALBERT M. MOORE. 

